Critical youth movement research launched in Africa, with support of Social Responsibility funding
PhD researcher Daniela Cocco Beltrame is leading a pivotal research initiative focused on empowering African youth within urban social movements
from the is leading on the African Youth and Intergenerational Movement Building project, exploring youth and inter-generational dynamics within urban social movements in Africa, in collaboration with the global network of .
Following a participatory action research (PAR) process involving co-researchers in Nairobi, Kenya, and Harare, Zimbabwe, the project will co-produce knowledge that can inform and enhance the agency of these movements, and of African youth.
鈥淪temming from an epistemic justice perspective that values multiple types of knowledge beyond academia, this deep collaboration 鈥� including joint design of research questions, methods, analysis of findings, and validating results with broader communities, is central to the process" comments Daniela.
[Daniela's] approach to this research, including the preliminary work she conducted - to check what youth in the movement as well as the broader movement see as priorities for young people, respecting the history, experiences, and knowledge that exists within the network and ensuring that the design of the research aims is informed by this - is methodologically innovative and will ensure a collaborative process that values the knowledge that exists, while bringing in new insights which will hopefully benefit our continued work with youth in the network.
SEED Social Responsibility Catalyst Funding
Catalyst funding from the School of Environment, Education and Development (SEED) proved instrumental in enabling Daniela to conduct the preparatory work for the project between January and May 2024. The fund is available to staff and students in SEED to support projects aimed at making a difference in teaching, research or operations.
Through the generous support of the SR Catalyst Fund, I was able to conduct collaborative meetings to develop, review and finalise the selection criteria for our community-based PAR co-researchers, as well as the identification of a pool of candidates from which the final group of co-researchers for each country will be selected. The goal of the project is to co-create an intergenerational action plan for the broader SDI network.
What does Social Responsibility mean?
In the context of Daniela's PhD project within SEED and GDI, she describes Social Responsibility as meaning 鈥渃onscious, reflective, and sustainable engagement with communities who represent non- and counter-hegemonic forms of knowledge production. It means honouring my commitment with epistemic justice and decolonization of research by supporting collaborative examination of the elements that hinder or support people and communities鈥� full participation in decision-making. This is a key underpinning of my work, as I believe the best solutions stem from collectively identified challenges."
Visit the partner websites: